Personality: Abby has really come out of her shell (especially outside of home!) She loves to babble and loves experimenting with the range of her voice! She remains a very laid-back and happy baby!

Eating/Sleeping Habits: Drinks 6oz every 3 hours. She now eats a wide variety of solids (purees) and honestly I don't think there is a food that she doesn't like! Sleep has been an issue for the last several weeks as she wakes up for a feeding somewhere around 4am but as you can see, she has hit a growth spurt between 6 and 7 months!

Comforted By: Music, rocking, being read to, and cuddling

Developmental Milestones: She is working on cutting two teeth. She can get up on her hands and knees and rock but hasn't figured out how to move forward. Instead she has her own form of army crawling to get where she needs to go!

Monday, November 2, 2009

There are a lot of ways to celebrate National Adoption Awareness Month (information found here):

Support Adoption Foundations Lifetime Adoption Foundation is a non-profit charity that assists the women choosing adoption, both with their physical needs and their futures, through educational scholarships. It also offers grants for families open to adopting hard-to-place children. Donations received go directly to funding both of these programs.

Write a letter to your local newspaper about the blessing of adoptionFor ideas and stories, click here to visit websites about adoption.

Learn more about positive adoption languageUsing positive adoption language will help end the myth that adoption is second best. By using positive adoption language, you’ll reflect the true nature of adoption, free of stereotypes. Click here to read some examples of positive and negative adoption language.

For creative ideas on how to celebrate the blessing of adoption and to increase adoption awareness, click here to view our National Adoption Awareness Month calendar.

We were nominated for the Back in the Saddle Award by a wonderful friend Sarah of Bunches of Burches!Background: This award is given to bloggers that are "Back in the Saddle" of life. This may be someone who is undergoing medical treatments, restarting his/her life, resurfacing after a tragedy, or someone who is just trying to sport a new attitude. Recipients have an attitude of a fighter, strive to be a winner of the battle, and show determination.

Rules: Post the award's graphic, background, and rules on your blog. Explain how you are "Back in the Saddle" again, and then pass the award on to at least four other bloggers who are "Back in the Saddle" just like you. Make sure you let them know that they have been given this award, and ask them to pass it on.

Our nominees for the Back in the Saddle Award go to:

Janna - Janna is one tough cookie! Despite the challenges the infertility and chronic illness have thrown at her, she has more grace and strength that anyone I know and now through the miracle of adoption has TWO beautiful baby girls! Only 5 1/2 months apart! I told you she was tough!

Allison - Allison is a true Endo Warrior! Her strength is amazing and now she is on her way to becoming a mommy! Yay!

Kate - I'm not sure I have the words to describe Kate. She has overcome more challenges than any ten people I know and keeps pushing forward. She greatly inspires me to keep moving forward when I want to quit.

JRS - If you need to be inspired or want to see what a heart of gratitude looks like, you need to check out her blog! She is truly amazing!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Abby had quite an eventful first Halloween! We began the day at the ADA Walk for Diabetes in Charlotte. Here is a picture of us with G-Nanny and Paw-Paw:That evening despite the rain, we had Trunk or Treat at church (indoors of course!) and I must say that Abby made the cutest cheerleader ever!

As you can see, it is very hard work being so cute! Halloween was definitely very exciting for our Abby. So much so that she didn't sleep! Hopefully that means we will get a good night sleep tonight!

Personality: Abby continues to be a happy baby! She is learning so much! She has definitely developed a temper if she doesn't have her way. She doesn't show it very often but when she does look out!

Eating/Sleeping Habits: Eats 6oz every 3 hours. She LOVES eating solids. She has tried sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, green peas, pears, and plums. Her favorite so far is green peas!She is still a great sleep 6 nights a week. She boycotts sleep on Sundays.

Comforted By: Music, rocking, being read to, and cuddling

Developmental Milestones: Still no teeth but she can roll both directions and is now sitting up by herself!

Favorites/Likes: She loves her jumperoo and continues to be fascinated by the dogs.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Abby finally got to meet her extended family this past weekend! While the drive was an interesting one (Abby decided to boycott her car seat), it was all worth it! Abby and I both wish that John could have joined us! Here are a couple of pictures!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

he federal adoption tax credit has helped thousands of families say "Yes!" to adopting a child. It's vital that this financial support stay in place to help families offset the costs and fees associated with adopting a child. Unfortunately, the tax credit is set to expire in December 2010 unless Congress votes to continue it. It's time to take action!

The Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act of 2009, H.R. 213 , will keep the adoption tax credit from being repealed, and may make the tax relief measure permanent. It only takes a few minutes to email or call your senators and congressmen it's important for them to hear from families impacted by the tax credit.

Currently, there are 76 State Senators and Representatives cosponsoring H.R. 213. However, there are 16 states that currently have no sponsors of this bill, including eight on the East Coast* (one of the largest areas of the US with internationally adopted children). H.R. 213 is currently in committee, where most bills die. It imperative that adoptive families, and all friends of children waiting for families, act now.

It only takes a few minutes to write, call, or email your representatives. Please do so today!

The two states offering the greatest support are Texas & Georgia with 6 cosponsors each, closely followed by Pennsylvania with 5. Honorable mentions: Florida , Indiana , Illinois each with 4 sponsorships each.

Pass this on to friends and family, and ask for their help in writing, calling, and posting on blogs and facebook. To gain momentum, we must have an absolute ground swell of families lifting their voices together for the well-being of children throughout the world.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

We had a followup appointment in Char.lot.te today so we got an accurate height & weight (I did an estimated weight by weighing her and I together and then me by myself and subtracting, etc). But I was shocked when they put her on the scale! She weighed in at a lovely 14lbs 12oz! My chunky monkey is growing big! Cereal has really beefed her up! And she was 24 1/2" long. They had to do bloodwork and we were amazed by how strong our little girl is! She didn't cry at all and didn't even flinch! I think she was more aggravated that I was holding her still than she was that they were sticking her! She definitely took it better than Mommy and Daddy!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Personality: Abby continues to be a happy baby! She is so alert and bright. We are amazed by how much she is learning every day!Eating/Sleeping Habits: Eats 6oz every 3 hours and has also started eating solids! Right now she is eating rice cereal and sweet potatoes! Green beans are next on the list! She continues to be a great sleeper 90% of the time!

Comforted By: Music, rocking, being read to, and cuddlingDevelopmental Milestones: She can now roll from her back to her belly so she is constantly in motion. She has also begun teething and we think within the next week she'll cut her first tooth!Favorites/Likes: She loves her bouncy seat and being on her blanket on the floor. She LOVES Charlie and Chloe! She smiles at them from across the room and loves to pet them. She also loves going for walks and being outside.

Disklikes: Having to wait for food and not being able to see what is going on.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

I sucessfully made my first batch of baby food! Sweet Potatoes! It was so easy! I found the recipe here. I bought 3 large potatoes. After washing, poke holes in potatoes with a fork and wrap in aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees until soft (approx. 45 minutes). Once they are done baking, remove skin and put appliance of choice (I used my food processor). Then I added enough water to be able to create a smooth puree. I then distrubed the sweet potatoes into these Baby Cubes for freezing. They are 1oz individual containers which make it easy to thaw just what I need for a meal. When I was doing the math, I was able to make roughly a week's worth of baby food for around $2. Not shabby huh? And the best part is that Abby loved it! I definitely think that she enjoyed the new flavor over plain cereal! The next food on the list is green beans!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Someone this morning asked me what exciting plans we had for the weekend. So I responded without thinking "grocery shopping." Yes, I count that as exciting. I would never have counted John or I as the "party type" (shocking I know) yet I never thought grocery shopping would constitute the highlight of weekend. I think a part of the reason I am excited about going is that we are starting VEGGIES this weekend! Its so crazy! Abby turns 5 months old on Sunday so we are going to start adding more flavors into her diet (as I am sure rice cereal gets boring). I am going to be making her baby food to save money as well as keep her food as organic/natural as possible. This website is a wonderful resource for any one looking to do the same! It has tons of great information! I will be sure to post pics!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Abby finally figured out how to roll from her back to her belly! She has been going the other way (belly to back) for a couple weeks but she previously hasn't been able to figure out how to get over her arm when trying to get to her belly! We were so excited! And thankfully we were able to catch it on film!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

I cannot believe she is already old enough for cereal! But we made sure to get her first bites on camera! She wasn't sure what to think at first but then would fuss if I didn't get the spoon back in her mouth quick enough! In a couple weeks we will start veggies!

We took Abby for her first "hike" at the Broad River this past weekend! She absolutely loves being outdoors! We tried out a few new carrys with our new mei tai as well! I think she likes the back carry the best so that she can see everything!

Friday, August 14, 2009

At the bottom of this blog there is a link where you can donate/contribute to a GREAT CAUSE! I (John) have had Type 1 Diabetes for 18 years. Diabetes impacts over 23 million people (MANY of them are children/teenagers). I have worked at a camp for diabetic children now for over 10 years. I am the director for the "explorers" program...my group works with the 3rd-5th graders (our entire camp works with kids up to seniors in high school). Helping children understand that as diabetics they can live a normal life and accomplish their dreams like everyone else is really important to me. If you would, please consider giving to this awesome cause. Thanks!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

it's been a while since we've posted anything...jamee's at work, and abby's currently playing in her bouncy seat...so i thought i'd update you on some great stuff:

*Financial Stuff---God continues to use wonderful people to provide for us. Our church for instance gave us over $1000 from food/drinks they sold from their concession stand during softball season! We officially owe UNDER $1000 (this is HUGE given the figure STARTED at $24,000)!!!!!

*Noises/Smells/Etc---Abby's diapers are amazingly gross...enough said. She's really learning to grab a hold of things, and is discovering her hands/feet...and not to mention she makes all kinds of noises (i've not learned to translate all of them yet, but i'm getting there!)

*Love--- I'm learning a ton about God's love through Abby. For instance, we've been passing around a cold/cough at our house. I so badly didn't want Abby to get it, but she did anyways. I kept thinking to myself, "I wish I could take it from you so you wouldn't have to deal with this." (I have the cold anyways!!!) I feel like I'm tapping into how God has always felt about us...and how He proved it through Christ's sacrifice on the cross (I'll take this weight for you).

I can have the WORST day in history, but when I pick up Abby and she smiles at me, it wipes away everything bad that happened that day...I know it sounds cheesy...but it's true.

There's so much more...but this is just a brief updateon how things are going.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

In case you haven't heard...the wait is over for Jamee and I! We picked up our DAUGHTER (Abby Elizabeth Miller) this past Monday! I won't even try to explain all of the emotions we've felt over the past few days...but the main one is JOY. We'll be putting up more posts as time goes...but just wanted to make everyone aware!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

As I was driving to work today, the song "Mighty to Save" came on the radio. As most of you who know me know that I absolutely love, love, love that song! However when I listened, some of the lyrics spoke to me in a much different way. The 2nd verse goes, "Take me as you find me. All my fears and failures. Fill my life again. I give my life to follow. Everything I believe in. Now I surrender." If you take the time to truly take those words in, you will see that those are pretty powerful statements to make! And if we say them with honesty and follow through actions, we may face situations that we never invisioned and we may have our faith tested. It is not a part of my theology to think that God caused my disease or that God desired to bring me the pain of infertility, BUT I believe that as these trials began He wanted to see how I would react. In all of it, it would be very easy to blame God for all of the pain and suffering in my life and turn and run away. The world we live in today seems to promote bitterness so I think that I probably could have gotten along by joining the "Bitter Betty" group. Or I could chose to look to God for strength, security, and refuge. I could chose to stand on faith. Now of course this is never easy and there are times where my faith has wavered and I could not see past all of my questions but I think it is in moments like these where we can stand and say "Take me as You find me" and He will provide all that we need to get through any trial we may face. The bridge of the songs says, "Shine your light and let the whole world see. We're singing for the glory of a Risen King." I think that it is once we've walked through these trials we are truly able to shine our lights and share with the world how God is Lord over all and He is our Savior and Redeemer and all of His promises hold true. These words may not speak to anyone else other than me today but I am thankful the my God is mighty to save and I know that throughout our adoption journey, He has been right there and for that I am thankful to be able to shine my light and sing for the power of a Risen King!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

This is an absolutely wonderful magazine & I encourage everyone to take a look! Weaving Families is an awesome ministry and this is their new publication! There is a wealth of information among these pages! Enjoy!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Our next (and hopefully final!) appointment is set for June 24th! It feels like forever away but we are so excited that there is light at the end of the tunnel! John has been busy in class all week (poor guy had a "speed week" class that has run him ragged) and I have been trying to keep myself busy around the house and getting back into some type of workout routine! We were able to enjoy a nice weekend away last weekend at the All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway (Sprint hooked us up with a fabulous weekend & I got to ride in the pace car!) so God has definitely gone before us to make the wait a little easier!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Waiting...if you were to look up the word in the dictionary, you'd find a picture of Jamee and I...seriously!

We still can't give out details...but as you know we've been matched and are just waiting for one more step to be finalized. However, the timeline is beyond our control (shock shock!). I'm learning we've never "had control" of any of these things. It's funny: our concept of being in 'control.' The best way to be in control is to realize you're not in control, and all you can do is trust the only One who's in control (this being God of course).

Time is out of our control---and so we wait, with anticipation, with anxiety (hard not to be), with hope, with a longing inside to love a child we believe God has and will match us with. Keep praying... We are hoping that around the end of June/early July things will be done...but again, time is not in our hands...:D Until next time...

Saturday, May 2, 2009

We have been matched! We can't give alot of details at this point but we are really crossing our fingers that the third time is the charm! We will know more within the next couple weeks! There are A LOT of unspoken requests on this one so please keep us in your prayers!

Monday, April 27, 2009

So this past weekend was slightly BUSY! We had a yard sale for our teeangers to raise money for their mission trips (in which we made about $1,000!). However, this is not what I wanted to blog about today. During our yard sale a couple from our church gave us some cool news. Our church has a softball league every year, and during their games they sell food/drinks for everyone. Jamee and I were informed that all proceeds made during the entire softball season will be donated to help us with the adoption process! God continues to provide in so many ways! Slowly but surely, the huge cost of adoption continues to get smaller and smaller!

I do not pretend to understand why everything is happening the way it is. I still question why Jamee is not allowed to ever be pregnant...I still wonder "what if..." about many things...but amidst all of this God continues to put the pieces together, and the picture is only getting clearer as time goes on...I look forward to seeing the "final picture" once it is complete...

Sunday, April 12, 2009

We got some great news in regards to the financial part of adoption this week! We recieved two interest-free loans totaling $10,000 this week! We will pay these back in full when we get our "tax credit" next year, but the adoption agency still needs to get paid before then...so this helps a lot! Now we've only got under $6,000 to go!

No other news to report in addition to this really. We are still waiting. God has really helped us continue to heal and move forward since our last experience (see "tough news" blog below). Again we know things will work out in God's time...and we eagerly await that day. Until next time...

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Yesterday as I was driving in my car I heard a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called "Cinderella." I don't like/dislike the song honestly, but I think it's a beautiful song from a father to his daughter (if you don't know the story, you should check it out). I was singing along and automatically had thoughts of the baby girl Jamee and I thought we were going to adopt, so I turned the radio to another station. I am not "ignoring" these thoughts but I honestly just couldn't listen to the song at that moment.

As I was praying this morning I prayed for this child and thanked God for the healing He has brought to Jamee and I. I prayed that God would provide for her in a way that honors Him best. We truly have made good progress as far as moving forward. Only with His strength and the loving support of family/friends are we able to do this!

Keep praying for us---we are in touch with some companies about grants/non-interest loans to afford adoption. God continues to provide for us financially, spiritually, emotionally, etc... He cares about every part of who we are...we are living proof. I know deep in my soul that the day will come when we become parents and when it happens, we will be able to look back over what we have gone through and be in awe of how God has guided us throughout this journey. Until next time...

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Jamee and I wanted to let everyone know about what's happened over the past week or so (though it's hard to summarize). We were matched with a birthmother last Thursday (March 5th), meaning she picked us to adopt her daughter. She then gave birth on Saturday, March 7th to a baby girl named Raylee. Things were moving fast! Monday the 9th, we along with the birthmother signed papers that said after 7 days the child would officially be ours and would take on our last name. The mother is given a 7-day window where she can change her mind and revoke the papers.

We have been back and forth to the hospital (in Morganton-45 minutes away) each day since Saturday spending time with Raylee; helping feed her, change her, etc... (she was born 5 weeks pre-mature so she was in the special care unit being watched). However we were informed last night that the birthmother has changed her mind, and will be moving out of state to join her family who will help assist her in raising Raylee.

So now you know why we've been non-existent over the past week :) We ask for your prayers through this difficult transition. We know that God has a plan for us and cares for us...we know God is great deep in our hearts, regardless of what happens. We obviously have heavy-hearts and are grieving through this process and just ask for your prayers...thank you.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

We have a very big meeting scheduled tomorrow with our agency! We can't go into too many details (we don't many to start with) but we would greatly covet your prayers that everything goes smoothly tomorrow! It is also John's birthday so we're hoping for a really good birthday surprise!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

In order to keep from going crazy (or, um, crazier) I have thrown myself into researching cloth diapers and oh my word there are such cute ones out there! They have come a long way since I was a kid! So I am really looking forward to using them! And thanks to sites like this one it makes it more affordable to start our stash! We've also shopped here and here and found great deals! We've also shopped at Etsy.com also has the cutest custom covers and other accessories (if you have never checked out etsy.com before you are totally missing out!).

Besides researching cloth diapers, nothing major has gone on in the adoption world. We have sent in grant applications so we are waiting to hear back from those. We also got word of when our spring workshop will be. Other than that the last week or so has been really frustrating as the wait has been pretty draining but we know that it will all work out in God's time. It's just tough to not be anxious sometimes but thankfully our Sunday school class has been doing a study on choices and the last one was making a choice to trust and not be anxious which has helped. Hopefully we'll hear some good news soon!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Hello everyone...just wanted to put in a plug for my own personal blog page. It's just a place where I reflect on how my faith interacts with my everyday life (which obviously includes parts of our adoption process!). Check it out sometime: www.johnzbc.blogspot.com

Adoption updates...honestly we're just waiting. If you are into praying, please pray that we do better at having patience:) Easier said than done...we realize it's out of our hands and that God is in control of all things...however, it is still a difficult process

Saturday, January 31, 2009

We just got in from our parenting conference in Concord and it was great! Well, 3 out of the 5 sessions were great. The other 2 weren't horrible. The information was good but the speaker was a bit of a snooze. So we felt really great about the information that we picked up from this conference.

Today was also a great day because we registered at Babies R Us! It was so much fun! Completely overwhelming but still great! We are making the move to become more eco-friendly so it was important for us (me mostly) to look for organic or otherwise eco-friendly products. We are also leaning towards doing cloth diapers. They have come such a long way from when I was a kid! So I am very excited about learning all of these things!

And the last piece of awesomeness of the day was that we received our wall art to go over the crib! We were looking for something to go above the crib and I asked a friend of mine if she had any ideas of what we could do as she's very gifted (she's getting her website up and running so soon you'll be able to check it out here!) So we got our package yesterday and we got it put up today! It is so amazing! I almost started crying when we got it all put up and I sat on the bed looking at it. She is an amazing artist & I can't thank her enough for helping us create the nursery for our baby!

Friday, January 30, 2009

We had recently sent in our application to ABBA fund that provides adoptive parents with a 0% interest loan for adoption expenses. In short they provide the money upfront for the pending tax credit and once the tax credit is received it is given back to the ABBA fund. Anyways, it seems that the economy has hit them too and currently they are not able to provide funds for any adoptions. They said that they would give us a call when everything is back up and running and they also made sure to tell us that if we get a placement to call them back and they would take our case back to the board in hopes of being able to help us out. So, we have felt a little defeated the last day or two. It seems that we are stuck on a treadmill--we are working really hard, just not getting anywhere. So we spent last night filling out grant applications in hopes to receive at least a little help with the remainder of the costs.

On the good side though (as there always has to be at least some silver lining), we completed our online courses through Adoption Learning Partners (http://www.adoptionlearningpartners.org/) and they were amazing. We took the Journey of Attachment, The Conspicuous Family (transracial adoptions), and Missing Pieces (dealing with the grief and loss associated with adoption). We really enjoyed them and felt like we learned alot plus they provide great lists of resources.

We are also attending a parenting conference this weekend in Concord, NC put on by Weaving Family Adoption Services and are excited to get away, even if its just for one night. We will definitely post what we've learned when we get back!

Oh and just in case you didn't see the note above, we have reduced the cost of our tshirts to $10!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

So we've been a little slack about posting updates because we're basically just "waiting." However we do have some updates...

We sent our photobooks off to the agency---this is what the birthmothers will be looking at as they consider who they want to adopt their child. We also finished some online adoption courses as a requirement from our agency. These were very insightful and helped us gain even more wisdom to become the parents God wants us to be. AND...we are within weeks of being able to pay our placement bill (while is several thousand dollars)...God has truly blessed us and provided for us!

ALSO---IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING T-SHIRTS FROM US please let us know...we have PLENTY of shirts we need to get rid of...we can even negotiate lowering the cost ($20)!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Last night I had a dream...it was the typical dream where not a whole lot makes sense, you know? Anyways, I was on my way home in the dream and Jamee had a surprise for me. When I arrived home, she was holding a baby girl in her arms...it was our adopted child. I went over to the child and could literally FEEL the emotions in my sleep flow through me...then I woke up.

I woke up wishing I could have slept just a little bit longer. I woke up wishing my dream were true...I know in good time it will be.

Updates: we have finished our photo album for our agency (though we have some editing and re-ordering to do). That's exciting! The birth-mothers will view this when they start looking at our agency. And Jamee and I are both back in school for the semester, so things are busy! I'm already looking deep into what I have to do this SUMMER...where has time gone! Man!